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A vital contract to expand mobile phone coverage for the emergency services is in crisis with work under way at only one out of around 300 locations where new masts need to be built.

The Home Office was this weekend understood to be considering scrapping a deal with Lendlease, the construction outsourcer, amid fears that police, fire and ambulance crews in some of Britain’s most difficult to reach areas will suffer communications problems due to delays to the new Emergency Services Network (ESN).

The multi-billion-pound project is supposed to replace the existing radio system, Airwave, by the end of next year, but forces were scheduled to begin migrating to the network in June.